Integrity is two forces that run through China's history and politics. As a purist, he is often admired for his neat bones, brilliant thinking and high cultural accomplishment. It is often used well to admonish ministers, supervise the behavior of emperors and ministers, and set rules and set things right, such as Wei Zhi;
If you don't use it well, you are a giant in thought and a dwarf in action. You will only talk but not do it, which will disturb the stability of the country and bring disaster to the country and people. For example, Weng Yitong and Chao Cuo; As an official, he is often unobtrusive, but precise and ruthless, and goes straight to the essence of the matter.
If you use it well, be a minister of state and a minister of government affairs, such as Zhang and Li Hongzhang; If we don't make good use of it, we will do whatever it takes to achieve a certain goal and abandon ethics, and the people will be miserable, such as Yuan Shikai and Zhi Dou.
Since ancient times, the use of these two types of officials is the so-called bending. If Emperor Taizong and Emperor Kangxi are properly used and honest officials are properly placed, the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe. Emperor Han Jing treated Chao Cuo badly and cut off the princes without preparation, which led to the chaos of the Eight Kings. Guangxu misused Emperor Weng Tonghe, didn't understand westernization, and supported him privately, which led to the fiasco of the Sino-Japanese War. The lesson is not painful.
Extended data:
The name "official" first appeared in Historical Records Biography of Officials, and was later inherited by Hanshu, Houhanshu and the Draft of Qing History, which became a fixed style in the official history to describe that local officials at the state and county levels attached importance to agricultural education, were honest and clean, lived a rich life and thought.
In addition to the concepts of "honest official" and "good official" in official history, there are also titles of "honest official" and even "heavenly master" in Yuan Zaju.
Honest officials are law-abiding officials, and to put it bluntly, they are good officials. Sima Qian first wrote biographies of officials, and later generations had biographies of officials. A really good official, even the people admire him. For example, when Ni Kuan, a famous minister in the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, was in charge of internal affairs, the time depended on people's feelings, so many taxes were often in arrears.
Official Website of Jinan University-Honest Officials and Clean Streams